


Inhuman

by Arytra



Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Background Rocky/Adam, Bittersweet Ending, Body Modification, Dark, Dark Tommy, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Experimenting on minors, Gen, Power Ex Machina, Trini Zack and Billy have very minor roles, Unethical Experimentation, very dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27218215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arytra/pseuds/Arytra
Summary: Hayley never existed.  Mercer was far less ethical than he normally is.  And Tommy... Tommy had no counterpoint to slow him down and a mentor that egged him on even before he was tortured.  It's okay though.  His Rangers know that he just wants what's best for them:  Even if 'what's best' sometimes hurts.
Comments: 22
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to add in as many tags as I could think of that might trigger people. If you run across something that I missed, please let me know so I can add it in.
> 
> I have found that when Tommy is supposed to be evil, he is far less terrifying than when he is trying to be extremely good. He has a Knight Templar thing about him that is extremely unnerving when it shows up. This AU just takes that theory to the extreme.
> 
> Happy Halloween!

"You're making too much noise." Dr. O didn't even look up from his work as he directed his comment at his young Rangers who had already been struggling to keep quiet. When none of them answered, he glanced up in their direction, looking at them expectantly.

"Sorry," Conner managed to get out. Dr. O nodded to him and went back to what he was doing. Kira was clenching her jaw to keep from making noise. Trent was holding Ethan who was doing his best not to make a sound, but that wound looked really deep and even if Dr. O said that the Power would heal it, Conner was starting to worry about it. They all were. Conner shifted slightly to help Trent make Ethan more comfortable squeezing the Blue Ranger's hand slightly before going back to waiting for their mentor to finish.

They all knew the rules by this point. Don't make noise when Dr. O was working so that he could focus. Don't complain about taking anything untested into the field. Don't complain about the amount of battles right now because people were dying. Don't complain about injuries or experimental solutions because the Power will likely handle it. They tried to follow them the best they could but sometimes after the fifth fight of the day and getting home way too late, the rules were harder to follow. Their parents didn't ask at this point. Parents had also gotten to a stage of 'at least your child came back normal'. Or relatively normal. Conner shivered as he remembered Mr. Duncan sobbing when he found out that Chelsea had decimated the bank and had to be placed into a medically induced coma until they could find a way to contain her.

He remembered when Dr. O had handed each of them their morphers after the gems and taken the time to teach them. For the most part, it hadn't been that bad. They trained, he praised them, and he helped to keep them safe. Then he'd been taken by Mesogog and things had changed. None of them were sure what had happened there, but he was more determined than he had been and far less gentle. They knew it had been bad with how he winced when he moved for several weeks and rubbed his head at times. He'd brought back the black gem and set it aside. They still didn't have anyone who had bonded to it. Tommy had shifted after that. He stated that they needed more firepower and that he was going to help get it. Conner still remembered him walking into class and asking the students if they wanted to help protect Reefside and, to his lasting shame, he hadn't protested at all. Dr. O had created smaller experiments such as amplifying Cassidy's voice or one of Ethan's friend, Sarah, merging with a computer. The students thought it was fantastic, but none of them were what Dr. O had wanted. He wanted more offensive abilities to help them fight but he couldn't figure out a way to make it work.

Then Dr. Mercer had returned. Dr. Mercer had given Dr. O the right push when he returned. Slowly, he had shown his student exactly where he was holding back and what he needed to affect instead. This time, the Rangers had protested but Dr. O assured them that it was for the best and that he would make certain that any volunteers consented to it. If Conner had been older or more knowledgeable, he would have realized that minors couldn't consent to major medical operations so students wouldn't be allowed to participate in something that literally changed their genes either. The Red Ranger had long since accepted that his lack of knowledge in comparison to his mentor's far wider grasp of scientific information meant that he should just back down anyway. It wasn't as if his mentor was going to do anything that wasn't to their benefit. He'd told them that so many times: Every experiment, every new idea was to strengthen Dino Thunder's chance of survival and the students has volunteered when Dr. O had asked as science classes began to resemble more of Frankenstein's Lab than a classroom.

The result was not an army willing to help but instead angry teens that had fought both sides and any civilian they came across. Teens whose minds had been warped by the science forced upon them and teens that the Dino Thunder Rangers couldn't just destroy. Conner and Kira were nearly choked to death by the branches of trees that Krista controlled. Ethan's shielding and strength were taken down by Derrick's new permanently golem exterior. Trent had nearly been buried alive by one of Ethan's former friends shifting the foundation of a building to mush. And none of it had stopped Mesogog from continuing to send his own threats down which increased the amount of fighting they were doing a day. They were tired, hungry, distraught, and all four of them just wanted to stop. After they nearly lost Trent, Kira had pleaded with Dr. O to just let them out of it.

"There's too many," she'd whispered. "Let's just run and maybe find new Power Rangers."

"That isn't an option, Kira," Tommy said sternly. "I've been trying to make this as easy on you as possible, but when you picked up those gems, you agreed to finish this."

"We didn't know what we were agreeing to!" Conner exclaimed. "We screwed up! We get it! But..."

"This isn't a punishment," Dr. O said, his stern tone shifting back to sympathetic. "There just isn't another option. You're Power Rangers. You have to finish this."

All four of them had been quiet, but they had also wanted to follow Kira's lead. The way this was going, it would never end. Tommy had looked at them all gently. "Once I find a solution, it won't take long and you'll be done."

"Promise?" Ethan had asked.

"I promise," Tommy answered.

It hadn't happened. Things just continued to fall more and more out of control and the four teens had begun to understand that this was just going to be the rest of their lives: What little there was left.

Conner was knocked out of his thoughts when Dr. O called out in a cheer and all of them looked up, a mix of apprehension and hope.

"I think this will handle it," he said. They all looked at him in confusion. He lifted up a vial. "This should amplify your powers."

"It'll make us stronger?" Conner asked.

"It should," Dr. O agreed. "I figured out that trying to work with the other students wasn't the answer. All of you are connected to the Power so increasing your powers should make it easier on all of you. And hopefully cut down on injuries. Speaking of which, Ethan, why don't you go first?"

"He's hurt, right? What if that messes it up?" Conner said quickly, not about to let Ethan play guinea pig right now. Trent backed him up.

"You're always letting us know about how variables can affect things," he agreed.

"And being injured is a huge variable," Kira finished. Ethan looked like he wanted to protest, but he was also mostly out of it. Tommy looked at Ethan and frowned to the trio's relief.

"You have a good point," he admitted. Conner continued.

"And you said Sixths can be different, right? So Trent probably is out," he said quickly. "If it works for us, it should work for him but not the other way?"

"Also true," Dr. O said. He beamed at Conner. "You've been paying attention."

Conner let the praise rush over him even if the only reason he had was for the survival of his team. He played his last card. "And Kira's a girl and the rest of us aren't."

"Are you volunteering then?" Dr. O asked. Conner forced the smile to stay.

"Someone has to, dude," Conner answered. He could see the panicked looks on Kira and Trent's faces, but when this went very wrong, at least they might get out of it. "But can you fix up Ethan first? He still looks sick."

Dr. O shifted from scientist to mentor and turned his attention to Ethan, giving the other three a break for a moment. Kira glared at him. "Are you crazy? Do you know what that might do?"

"He's going to do it," Conner reminded her. "And science-wise, I'm probably the best choice. Listen, when this goes horribly wrong, there's a letter for my brother in my locker. Make sure he gets it? And like, let the next Red know about me, okay?"

"It might not go that badly," Trent offered. "But if it does, done. Let's be honest though. We'll likely be right behind you."

"At least it will be over?" Kira asked. They both turned to her and each grabbed an arm. Conner looked at both of them.

"If something happens, you argue," he said. "Just try to convince him. And take care of Ethan."

"Right," Kira said, holding her head up. He traded a look with Trent. He was far less worried about the Sixth since he was a survivor. He'd live and he'd make sure the other two did too. Dr. O came back over.

"Ethan is going to be fine," he reassured them. "I did need to let him sleep. He'll just stay here for the night."

"Okay," Conner said, still forcing the smile. Everything went better when everyone was happy with each other. Dr. O patted his shoulder.

"Up on the table," he said. Conner hated the table. It wasn't the first time they'd all had to deal with it. At his hesitation, Tommy squeezed his shoulder gently. "I know you don't like being held down but it's for safety."

Conner just nodded and did as he was told. Just as any of the other three would have. They couldn't do this without Dr. O looking after them after all. Tommy just smiled at him as he gently used the restraints. Kira and Trent both looked concerned but didn't say anything. None of them ever did. If they distracted their mentor, he might screw up and that would make things even worse. Conner did his best to stay still. The needle hit his arm and he tried not to call out as it felt like fire in his veins. He felt Dr. O's hand gently on his forehead, trying to soothe him through it.

"Is it going to kill him?" Kira asked. There was a little worry in her voice, trying so sound professional, but he knew from experience how much of an act that was.

"No," Tommy assured her. "It's just having to adjust to his body and Power."

Conner was relieved that his teacher was right. Yes, it hurt but it was starting to pass. He just needed to wait this one out until it finished his job. "Getting better, Kira."

She nodded, looking relieved. Trent's expression shifted to a genuine smile as well. Both of them had just wanted to know he'd be okay. Dr. O smiled. "Is it still painful?"

"A little," Conner answered, not about to whine about how much it had hurt. He didn't want to upset his mentor. "Can I please get up now?"

He kept his voice from being demanding. Dr. O fortunately just laughed. "Of course."

Every so often his mentor sounded like his old self. He knew that Dr. O was always doing what was right and what needed to be done to take care of them and the town, but it was nice to see the laughter and the caring in his eyes. Dr. O squeezed his shoulder, reassuring him that he'd done so well. Conner wobbily smiled back. "How long until we know?"

"I don't know," he answered. "Make the notes as it goes on."

"Yes, Dr. O," he said quickly. He hated taking notes on how he was feeling and what pain or strength he felt, but he wasn't going to complain. It would help Kira, Ethan, and Trent when they went through it. Dr. O looked at the other two.

"We'll wait until tomorrow to give you two a dose," he said. They both nodded, trying to look brave about the whole thing. "Conner, call your parents and let them know you're spending the night."

"We know we don't need to," Trent said. "But can Kira and I stay?"

"Go ahead," he reassured him. "Let your father know I said it was fine, Trent."

Trent just nodded as the two headed off. He paused. "Conner? I'll let your mom know you're staying with me."

"Thanks, Trent," he answered. They'd all gotten very good at lying not that that mattered either. Their parents didn't really look into that either. Other than Trent's, of course, but that's because he knew what was going on. He was the one who had given Trent his morpher after all. He still didn't know a lot about Trent's father other than he had adopted Trent and worked with Doctor O on creating their Zords and morphers. There were parts that made Conner nervous. His smile seemed to big at times for instance. When he'd found out about the other three, he revealed the last one and gave it to Trent for some reason. Conner still didn't know why. He had originally thought it was to protect his son from experimentation, but Dr. O didn't pull back with the four of them. He figured it was just to keep him where either man could keep an eye on him instead of Trent just disappearing one day.

In the present, Tommy had lost interest in him temporarily, giving Conner a moment to breathe and not have to hide the pain he was in. He was allowed to write it down. That was scientific. Trent came back down and met Conner's eyes. His heart sank. He knew that look. Trent's look shifted to their mentor. "Dr. O? Dad wanted to know if he could come see the results of your experiment."

Dr. O beamed. "Of course."

Trent nodded and waited until the man's back was turned before giving Conner an apologetic look once again. Conner just nodded as Trent rushed back off again. Conner moved over to where Ethan was, checking the other Ranger over. It looked like they weren't down a teammate. Conner ignored the guilt he felt at being happy for that. He was hoping that something would take the four of them down together so they weren't alone. He smiled tiredly at his sleeping friend and shuddered as another wave of pain came over him. The other two came back down as soon as they finished and both of them turned their attention to him. They were all hoping that there wouldn't be another attack that night.

"How long until your father gets here?" Conner asked Trent. Trent winced. Kira looked at him.

"He's not," she half-pleaded. Trent pulled her to him protectively. Conner shared a look with Trent.

"I'm so sorry," Trent whispered. "Maybe he'll just want the notes."

"Ethan's still unconscious," she hissed.

"He won't want to see Ethan right now," Conner reminded her. "That's not interesting."

"Oh god," Kira said, moving from Trent and reaching toward Conner.

"Do not touch him," Tommy called out. "I mean it, Kira. If your gem shifts the course of the experiment, I will lock you in another room for the rest of the experiment."

Kira stopped herself. Conner forced another smile for her. It likely wouldn't be just for his time that she'd be locked away for after all and all of them knew it wasn't an empty threat. "Sorry, Dr. O."

His expression softened. "I know it's hard, but you don't want to throw it off and maybe hurt Conner, do you?"

"No," she answered.

"Then I need you to trust me," he said softly. Conner never felt it was truly fair when he said that. Of course they trusted him. Kira still just nodded, looking so ashamed. Conner had to clench the table just to make sure he didn't reach out for her instead. Dr. O took the paper work he'd been working on and raised an eyebrow. "You downplayed the pain again, Conner."

"I didn't..." he started and Dr. O held up the pen that was half-crushed. Conner continued, obviously caught. "Downplay it that much."

"You are the baseline," his mentor reminded him. For a while, Conner had wondered where Dr. O had learned the terms from. Then they'd met Dr. Mercer and realized exactly where Tommy had learned from. "Which means?"

"I need to be as accurate as possible so that we know if there is possibly a problem for Ethan, Kira, and Trent later. If I downplay it, you might overcompensate when they hurt too much worse which could affect the experiment," he said, repeating the words he'd been taught and recited dozens of times. When it came to pain, he wanted their mentor to overcompensate if it meant the others hurt less. "I'm sorry."

Dr. O sighed. "It's okay. Red Rangers tend to put on a brave face for their team. You're a good Ranger, Conner."

He preened a bit at that. Dr. O was stingy with the compliments because he loved them and was proud of them. It was rare that they actually let him done, however, and he was far less stingy with showing them he cared in other ways. Still, it was somewhat a relief and a reward to feel that welcoming rush of approval, however, when he still felt like his insides were burning and his skin and mouth were tingling. 

"Conner is giving you trouble again, Tommy?" Conner tensed at the voice as Dr. Mercer stepped down into the lab. Kira did the same as Trent straightened up slightly. All three forced the smiles on their face as Dr. O happily went to greet his friend.

"He doesn't mean to," Dr. O said, teasing Conner. "It's just the Red Ranger in him."

"I'll take your word for it," Dr. Mercer said, though his own amused smile met their faux ones. "Good evening, children."

"Good evening, Dr. Mercer," all three said together. He glanced over at Ethan and then at the science teacher.

"He was hit hard," he answered. "I put him under for the night so nothing else happens to him."

Dr. Mercer nodded and knelt down, looking the Blue Ranger over. "It looks like it's working."

For all of the unease about Dr. Mercer, his scientific strength was in biology and he did well in examining their lifesigns. It just also could be used as it was with their classmates. He turned around and looked at Conner. Conner stood up as straight as he could. "Did you need something, Dr. Mercer?"

"Trent mentioned you took the drug Tommy created," he said, keeping the smile on his face as he spoke. Conner nodded. "Hmm. Did you know that you can see pain in someone's eyes, Conner, even if they're trying to hide it?"

The doctor's voice stayed completely level. It wasn't sympathetic like his mentor's, but it wasn't cruel either. It was just matter of fact. The only somewhat good part about it was that Dr. Mercer did tend to treat them similarly to how he treated Dr. O when he spoke. He'd explain things, but he didn't talk as if they couldn't understand it. "I know now."

Dr. Mercer laughed slightly. "I suppose you do. I just wanted to let you know what I was looking for before I let you know that your eyes a bit yellow there."

Conner grabbed for anything that looked like a mirror and checked. "Dr. O!"

Dr. O rushed over as Dr. Mercer motioned to the boy's eyes. Conner was looking at him frantically. "Conner, open your mouth."

Conner did as he was told. Both of the doctors looked into it, nodding to each other and seemingly on the same page. Dr. Mercer spoke up first. "I think that you pulled some of that DNA into Conner's body, Tommy."

"Not what I was exactly trying for," Dr. O grumbled. Dr. Mercer shrugged.

"Why not? The last time I checked, dinosaurs tend to be stronger and better armored than humans. His eyes might see further, his bite likely will have a strength more similar to an alligator. There are just a couple of small side effects," he said languidly. Dr. O looked a bit concerned.

"Do you think the pain is permanent then?" He asked.

"His body is changing to adjust," Dr. Mercer answered. "Once it finishes, I'm sure the pain the boy has will stop."

Conner looked at Dr. O nervously and his mentor broke away from his conversation, looking Conner in the eyes. The smile on the man's face was real and reassuring. "Do you want me to put you under for the rest of it?"

Conner shook his head wildly. "That could mess it up, right? I can handle it."

Dr. O nodded, the pride in his eyes felt soothing against the burning and aches Conner was feeling. Then he turned his attention to Trent and Kira instead. All three Rangers knew where this was going. Ethan would still have a reprieve until morning, but Trent and Kira's time just ran out. Trent forced a smile and stepped forward, causing Tommy to smile even harder. Trent climbed onto the table and Conner privately though that it was worse to watch it happen than to go through it. He moved to Kira, not touching her but staying a steady presence. She followed suit. It helped when Trent started to scream. Neither of the other two looked away.

By the end of the night, they were exhausted and quite frankly terrified. They had no idea what this was going to actually do to them after all.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's getting worse," Kim said over the phone forcefully for the third time. Rocky wasn't disagreeing with her at all, but he also wasn't completely sure what she wanted to do about it. There already was a team there and they hadn't been invited in nor had there been some sort of reason for them to go there. Considering that the past year's team also hadn't had a team-up, they were starting to think that the Red Mission was the last time the time they would all work with newer teams. Regardless, they needed to let the newer teams handle themselves until something told them to get involved. Rocky sat back, organizing his social work paperwork as he stayed on the phone.

"I know, but we weren't invited," Rocky argued. "We can't just go in."

"Rocky, I'm not asking for you to morph," she said. "I'm just asking for you and Adam to go have a quick look while I make the others come back. Please?"

"Why aren't you trying to get Jason to do it?" He asked.

"Because he thinks I'm overreacting. The others are too far away. I'm just trying to get them all ready for when we need to get involved, let alone go check," she answered. "And Florida isn't exactly a quick drive away."

"You know this is why Adam keeps trying to talk me into moving to another state," Rocky informed her, though he was smiling slightly as he said it. "Alright. I'll convince Adam. But you need to make sure the others are back in case we're right."

"We?" She asked.

"Come on, Kim," Rocky reminded her. "You know I've agreed with you that something is wrong. I just don't want to upset a team who hasn't asked for it."

"Is that why you didn't go on the Red Mission?" She asked.

"I didn't go for a lot of reasons," Rocky answered. "Including that I needed to track down a runaway who nearly made it out of state."

Kim made an affirming noise at that. Rocky put the needs of his 'kids' above other responsibilities every time which had angered his former leader, if he was going to be honest about it, but Kim absolutely understand and encouraged him. If he didn't know that she was on her way back, he'd be more annoyed with her for adding to his already extensive schedule but she would take over once she arrived and make it up to him. "Thanks, Rocky."

"Hey, no problem," he assured her, ignoring the fact that Adam was not going to be happy about this at all. He'd firmly been in the 'let them ask' camp. 

"I'll be there soon. I promise. And I'll get the others there," she assured him. "And be careful!"

"You too," he answered. "I miss you."

"Miss you too! Tell Adam hi for me," she said and hung up. He sat back, finishing organizing. He started to get up when he saw Adam in the doorway, arms folded.

"What did you promise we'd do?" He asked, sounding more resigned than annoyed. 

"Go to Reefside and see what's going on," Rocky said. "As civilians."

"Did you remind Kim we weren't invited?" He asked.

"How'd you know it was Kim?" He asked.

"It's always Kim," Adam said.

"She's just worried. Enough to fly out," Rocky answered instead. Adam was quiet for a minute before he answered.

"I'll pack," he said and Rocky nodded. It was probably fine, but they would all feel better once they confirmed it.

***

Watching Ethan go through the same thing the next morning didn't do anything for their morale, especially when they were adjusting to their own results from the experiment. Conner had woken up feeling like he was drowning when his mouth had shifted to allow far sharper teeth and bled out to accommodate the change. He'd scratched himself in the night as nails became claws and his fingers became webbed between his pinky and ring finger as well as his middle finger and index. He did feel stronger, his bite was certainly deadly, but it would take some adjustment. Kira and Trent had both woken up screaming in pain from their backs shifting to become more capable for wings and their arms fused to their sides before slowly growing wings outward. It was grotesque. Crests had formed on their heads as well, though they didn't seem to be growing a beak which Conner considered a small favor. Ethan's was forming slower, but as the day went on, they watched as the horns burst though his skin and the bone frill start to form. His bulk had changed as well, making him even more of a tank than he had been before. There were the tests after, taking blood, as the four just quietly sat through it. They waited until Dr. Mercer and their mentor were busy discussing things before moving together. Conner winced at Ethan's slight groans.

"It'll feel better soon," he promised, knowing that Ethan's was still on the beginning side of shifting. Ethan looked at him dubiously.

"You were spitting up blood, Conner," Ethan reminded him.

"My mouth is rearranging," he answered, trying to wave it off. Kira and Trent were huddled together at the moment which Conner was grateful for. It was hard enough to try to stay somewhat upbeat for one teammate let alone three.

"You don't have to lie," Ethan told him. "I know the score."

He did, of course, and Conner knew he did. "Yeah. Doctor O says going through this will help."

"We could use the help," Ethan agreed, accepting the reasoning. "So, more fighting and more testing today?"

"Yep," Conner answered. Before he could say anything else, the alarm went off. Conner pushed back the pain as he stood up. He looked at Kira and Trent, somewhat dispassionately. "We have work to do."

Both of them nodded, helping each other up. They morphed before they left this time. They didn't want the town to see this after all. It might give them away.

***

Rocky was the first out of the car. He hadn't been exaggerating to Adam earlier that Kim had been worried and it had easily transferred to him. There was just something off about the town and it wasn't just the excessive amount of destruction that was shown. Few people were outside and those that were hurried through the streets. No one even looked at each other, but rather just kept their heads down. Vegetation poured out of windows, rocks broke through the asphalt, the park they walked by was flooded. There were scorchmarks and holes everywhere. Both men shared a look and pulled out their morphers, ready to use them if they needed to. 

It was about a block forward that they finally heard voices and rushed toward them. Both stopped in their tracks when they saw two teens throwing fireballs and what looked like porcupine quills that littered the teen's back. Both of them were yelling, destroying more as they did so. Rocky felt the sense of nausea kicking in and fought past it. He could deal with his own feelings later. "They're children."

Adam was tense next to him. "No wonder it's out of control. No Ranger is going to destroy civilians, especially not kids. We need to find the Rangers and figure out what's going on."

"What about these kids?" Rocky asked, focusing on the two in front of him. Adam looked equally distraught, but was trying to keep himself together for his husband's sake. He gently took Rocky's arm.

"We'll help them too, but we need to know how things are this out of control," Adam reminded him. Rocky wasn't thrilled, but he did know that Adam was right. Adam did look at the two, knowing that they were in between a rock and a hard place. They didn't want to hurt the kids and they needed information, but they also couldn't just let them keep this up. Fortunately, they were interrupted by four Rangers and both realized that it was the answer to both of their dilemmas. They watched as the four took on the two teens, trying to corral them and likely knock them out, but the teens were having none of it. They fired off a few shots and fled. The Rangers didn't pursue them once they'd stopped and it caught Rocky off-guard until he realized that even he didn't know what they were supposed to do with teenagers who were acting out with superpowers. 

He focused his attention on to the teens instead as they started to head off. "Hey! Wait! We want to talk!"

The Red Ranger paused and then turned to look at him. The other three followed suit. All four moved somewhat nervously. "You should go. They'll be back soon."

"We'll be fine," Adam said quickly. "What happened?"

"Mesogog," they all said together. At least now they had a name for this thing. The four were still backing away slightly and Rocky forced a smile.

"Hey guys, it's okay. You can talk to us," he said, carefully pulling out his own morpher. "See?"

"You're a Ranger?" The Blue Ranger asked. They powered down and the bile rose in Rocky's throat again. He forced himself to keep steady right now.

"I was," Rocky said. He was trying to ignore just how unsure these Rangers were. They were skiddish as if they were worried about talking to him. He'd seen that kind of behavior as a social worker. The fact that someone had obviously hurt these kids as he could see that some of the changes were still happening while they were out here trying to fight made it worse. He wanted to just get them away, but he knew better than anyone that that was just going to be a fight. 

"Why haven't you been helping?" The girl of the group demanded. The one in white gently put his hand on her arm.

"She means it's been hard on just us," he answered. The blue Ranger looked confused.

"Why didn't Doctor O call you?" He asked. Rocky felt a bit relieved. If that was their mentor's name, they could salvage this.

"I don't know," Rocky answered. It seemed like the best answer for now. Adam was letting him handle this for a reason. "So, Mesogog made all of the teens in..."

He didn't have a word for it. The kid in red shook his head. "They volunteered. And then they went crazy. They were supposed to help us."

Rocky had a bad feeling about all of this, even worse than he had a minute again when they had just been normal, if mutated children. This had been planned and none of these four were acting like it was a problem. Then again, considering their own state, they likely didn't know it actually was a problem. He glanced at Adam who took over, having gotten further than Rocky on figuring out what had happened.

"You helped change them?" He asked. The Red shook his head.

"Doctor O did but they volunteered. And he did it for us so we would have help," he answered quickly. Rocky couldn't hide his horror at that and the four kids took a step back. Adam was schooling his face slightly better.

"But they didn't," he said. They shook their head. "And then he did the same to you?"

"To help us!" The kid in red snapped. "He's doing what he has to do!"

Rocky had heard that kind of language before and gave Adam a quickly look to pull back. They literally couldn't force the kids to come with right now, not to mention the problem of the rest of the teens, and having them take off wasn't going to help.

"Conner! The four of you know better than to just hang around!" Rocky hadn't known he could feel any more horror at the situation, but hearing that voice proved him wrong. He hadn't heard it in years, and the last time he'd heard it there had been far more anger attached, but there was the same force and tone as when Rocky had been a Ranger. Adam's jaw clenched and Rocky knew that his husband recognized it as well. Tommy Oliver was apparently the mysterious Doctor O. He caught sight of Adam and Rocky and his expression darkened slightly. He didn't say anything right away, but Rocky's attention fell from the kids for a moment as the entire situation finally pushed him past his limit.

"What the hell, Tommy?!" Rocky demanded. "What have you done?!"

"He's saving the world," White answered and Rocky regretted his outburst.

"Back off," Red agreed.

"Like I said, we didn't see you here," Yellow snapped. Rocky watched as all four of them tried to subtly look toward Tommy to see how he felt about their defense. He looked proud over the whole thing. Rocky looked at Adam and both realized that all of them had been mistaken in not coming earlier but none of them had dealt with a situation like this before. He felt a hand on his arm and glanced over to see Adam motioning him to go.

"We'll be back," Adam said quietly. Rocky wasn't even sure if it was a promise or a threat, both or neither. Still, they headed away. Rocky turned to him.

"We can't just leave them there!" He said. "I don't know what's wrong with Tommy, but they aren't safe!"

"I know," Adam said. "And I also know we're not going to get through to them. Right now, they see us as an obstacle. Maybe Jason and his team can convince them."

Rocky was quiet, but he didn't argue back. "And Tommy?"

"I don't know," Adam said, looking more than a little uncomfortable. "We'll figure that out with the others."

Rocky easily agreed, not wanting to make that choice either. He just looked, still shaking his head at what they'd seen. 

***

The Dino Thunder Rangers were quiet the entire way back. Ethan was finally catching up to the others in terms of transformations, they were all exhausted, and the entire scenario had unnerved them. They had begged to be let out of being Rangers earlier, to let someone else take over and it was clear that the two Rangers had known Dr. O but they hadn't come to help nor had they seemed to realize anything that was going on. They didn't know if that meant that there hadn't been a way out for them or if the idea of calling for help was ignored. Worse, how bad did the other Rangers have to be if Dr. O hadn't called them. They waited for their mentor to leave before huddling together to talk.

"They were Rangers," Ethan whispered. "Actual Power Rangers."

"We don't know that," Trent said quietly. "Maybe they got the morpher a different way."

"No," Kira said. "Ethan's right because Dr. O was a Ranger with them."

"They weren't here," Conner told them. "We've been handling everything with Dr. O's help and now they think they can just come in and..."

He was shaking in anger as he was unable to finish his statement as the others stayed quiet for a moment before Ethan spoke up again. "They seemed like they wanted to help now."

Conner managed to bite back an insult to the other as Ethan was the one who had taken to being a Ranger the quickest, eventually wanting to be the superhero that he'd grown up watching. Sure, he'd tried to take off, but all three of them had in the beginning before they realized that they had to stay. It made sense that he wanted to believe that there were other good people out there wanting to help, Still, Conner needed to handle this before Kira lashed out. "They didn't help before and we don't know them. They yelled at Dr. O, Ethan."

Ethan's hope fled and Conner felt bad about setting his friend straight. "You're right."

"Yeah. Sucks, dude," Conner agreed. "Besides, maybe Dr. O's plan will let us win now. At least against Mesogog."

Trent didn't look that hopeful, but he did stay quiet. Kira looked dubious. Ethan wasn't looking at him at all. Conner wasn't feeling it either, but there was a chance that they could take Mesogog down with them and that would be at least some sort of victory. As they were quiet, they could hear Dr. O in the next room, ranting to Dr. Mercer.

"I have this and they come in and try to judge what I'm doing?!" Dr. O snapped. "Rocky didn't even show up the last time I asked him to! And Jason, Jason told me I needed to accept that Rocky had a new life!"

"Which is why you didn't bring them in on what was going on," Dr. Mercer soothed. "They would have made things worse."

"Much worse," Dr. O agreed. "The kids would be dead by now if I'd let them!"

"Which is why you didn't," the other assured him. The four started to talk again so that they could ignore the conversation as much as possible. That answered their question on if Dr. O had even tried. There was just something off about the situation even if it was for the best that it had happened this way.

"How much longer until we're ready?" Conner asked Ethan who shrugged.

"Soonish?" He said hopefully. "I don't know, Conner. I didn't take 'how to mutate teenagers 101'."

"Sounds like an oversight," Trent said dryly. None of them even bothered to glare in his direction. "Nothing is happening. We should get some sleep."

"Trent has a point," Kira agreed. "Especially since we might need to be up in an hour and these wings are killing me."

They somewhat managed to fall asleep, though all of them were still uneasy both in their normal sense and in a way that they didn't quite understand yet. They couldn't trust the two they met, but they still felt something was coming.

***

Rocky was half a foot taller than Kim and looked it, but somehow he managed to curl into her when he saw her, needing more than their traditional hug. Kim was startled as she looked at Adam for help. Adam just swallowed. "You were right."

Kim swore under her breath and just let Rocky take the comfort he needed, leading him to his couch and sitting down with him. He knew she wanted to know, but she wasn't going to push it at the moment. She forced a smile. "Everyone is on their way, just like I promised. We can head back tomorrow."

Rocky pulled back and looked at her. Adam's hands squeezed his shoulders, finally calm enough to do so. Once they were done here, Adam would need to burn off some steam at the dojo. "We made a mistake. No, we made a lot of mistakes."

"What happened?" She asked.

"Reefside is a No Man's Land," Adam answered instead, keeping his voice somewhat calm just as he had when they'd needed to walk away. He pressed on his communicator having tinkered with it in the car. Rocky assumed he had pulled Tommy out of it and added in Rangers from other teams. Regardless, it was open communication at the moment so that everyone could hear what they had learned. "The teens were mutated to have different powers and from what we understand, they aren't handling it well. They're causing just as many problems as the actual threat: Mesogog."

"Wait, there's two threats?" Kim asked. Rocky took over.

"We found the Rangers," he said, not answering right away. "They were kids, Kim. I have kids I work with that were that age. The Rangers, the other teens in Reefside were all mutated by the Rangers' mentor as some sort of 'help'."

"What? A mentor did what?!" Kim asked. Rocky paused, giving her a sympathetic look as he did so and wished he could do the same for Kat and Jason.

"He decided that his Rangers needed more help so he convince his students to let him experiment on them," Rocky answered, instead. He could come back to answering her question later. It was a good thing that both Rocky and Adam had emptied their stomachs ten miles out of Reefside or he wouldn't have been able to finish talking about it. "The Rangers were grateful for it and they were so mad at us for not being there and I don't blame them because I blame us for not being there."

There was silence for a minute and Adam's communicator spoke up as Jason spoke up. _"You never answered Kim's question."_

Rocky swallowed a bit at that. He wasn't sure if Jason had figured it out or if Zack and Trini were with him and the former had mentioned it, but he knew that he was caught. "Yes, their mentor did all of it. I don't know what he was thinking but that's also our fault. Their mentor is Tommy."

Rocky was given the break from explaining that he needed as the other Rangers, both from teams he knew and teams he didn't, were speaking up at the same time. It wasn't that they were arguing against each other as much as there were exclamations of shock, horror, anger, and pushing toward coming up with a plan. Jason let them go for a minute before he cut them off again. _"Quiet! Rocky, Adam, what's your take on this?"_

"The Rangers don't want us there, but I've seen this before," Rocky said. "They're tired, scared, abused, hurt both emotionally and physically. They're stuck believing that Tommy has their best interests at heart because they need to believe that and he's taking advantage."

How many times had Rocky watched a child go through the system this way and not walk out the other side easily? He was only able to state the facts in as clear of a way as he did because he had seen it so often. That said, he felt Kim squeeze his hands harder and was relieved for it. Jason spoke up a second time. _"Alright. We need to get both the Rangers and every single one of those kids that were affected out of there. Lightspeed, we're going to need your help."_

"Especially Dana," Kim agreed. "We need to get them checked out."

"I don't think Rocky and I should be there when you to try to get the new Rangers," Rocky said quietly, remember the vitriol that they had had toward them. It would be better to try again with completely different people.

_"I'll take the rest of my team,"_ Jason assured him. _"Aisha, Kat, and Tanya are on their way. Can you guys get Tommy?"_

"Yeah," Rocky said, knowing that would be a fight but one that Adam's expression told him they'd win. Rocky had little doubt he was right. He tuned out most of the rest of it, other than acknowledging that Wes and Eric would handle Mesogog's forces for the time being to give Lightspeed a change to live up to the 'Rescue' part of their title and there was agreement from every team to help with calming down the kids once they got them out of Reefside. Tomorrow, hopefully, this nightmare would be over soon.

***

The four had fallen into an uneasy sleep, taking what they could get until the next battle. They were given a night's respite, something that they hadn't even hoped for nor had in weeks, before having to rush back out. Today, however, was different. Instead of just them, there were several Power Rangers fighting back. Conner was certain that Tommy wasn't going to be happy about this considering yesterday, but part of the four realized that they wouldn't have to this alone anymore. Kira looked at them carefully. "Is this good or bad?"

Conner was just grateful that she was equally confused. "Good? At least they're stopping things."

Kira nodded and just moved to help fight. Conner relaxed as he followed suit. Both Ethan and Trent took off in other directions as they worked to contain the former students. Conner waved a finger in one of the Red Ranger's near him as he spoke forcefully. "They're human. Do not destroy them."

"Wasn't planning on it, Kid," the Ranger answered, sounding bemused. The one next to him laughed a bit at the response.

"Thank you for the warning," he said. "Eric, I'll hold him down..."

"No. Get them back toward Carter. We need to be ready if the other thing shows up," Eric said thought it wasn't angry. It was... exasperated? There were two Reds on one team? Conner shrugged it off and moved on as both of the other two concentrated on what they were doing. He was certain the others would be equally confused by all of this. He moved from group to group until it was calm again. The other three caught up with him and they demorphed, ready to head back when they heard a voice call out.

"Wait!"

Conner found himself obeying though the other three were only slightly inconvenienced. There was something there. A pull that he hadn't felt before and that feeling from the night before was back. It didn't feel bad, really, but he would have had a hard time fighting against it. He turned as one of the Red Rangers powered down as well. The feeling was even stronger now. Conner pushed back anyway. "What do you want?"

"To talk," he answered. "That's okay, right?"

"Yeah," Conner answered, not sure if it was or not but the pull felt so strong. The gem was begging him to listen. The man looked calmer about that.

"Good," he answered. Conner watched as four others, also demorphed, came up behind him. He tensed, but noticed that all three of his teammates looked equally interested at this point and took it to mean that there was something else there. "My name is Jason. This is Trini, Zack, Billy, and Kimberly. We were teammates with Tommy."

Conner wondered if that was why he felt comfortable with Jason, but dismissed it considering that the other four still made him nervous not to mention that the other two from yesterday had also apparently been teammates with Tommy and he hadn't felt anything then. "And?"

"And I want to know what happened. From your point of view," he said gently. Conner could smell the concern coming off of him thanks to the new add-ons. Well, that was a handy new power that he never wanted.

"We became Rangers," he said. Jason nodded and waited for him to continue. He noticed that Zack was holding Trini back while Billy and Kimberly seemed to be holding each other back as they clenched each other's hand. A slight glance to his side showed him that his own team were nearly following suit. "We found the gems and took them. Except Trent. Trent was given his by his dad. It was alright and then Doctor O was taken. We don't know what happened but he came back with a gem and he said we needed to finish things now. So, he started to involve the other students who wanted to help. But then they got out of hand and here we are, dude."

"And your changes?" He asked.

"Doctor O decided to try to up our power," Conner said, forcing a shrug. "It had some side effects."

He decided against adding that it could have killed them and that it had been a concern. He wouldn't need to if that horrified look on Billy's face said anything. Jason turned to look at Billy, waiting for him to say something. Billy swallowed, obviously trying to keep his voice calm. "That sort of experiment was dangerous."

He said it toward Jason, but kept an eye on the four of them, as if to see their reaction to that news. He didn't seem pleased by what he saw. Conner didn't really know why. It had been needed so that they could finish the job but they knew it was dangerous. He'd asked Kira and Trent to be ready to let his brother know for a reason. Dr. O had told them a hundred times that they needed to do what was needed for the city and that there was no one else. Considering he was teammates with these guys, Conner thought they'd understand that. As it was, Jason's expression just looked sad. There wasn't another word for it. Just sad.

"We know we're late," Jason said. "But we want to help you now."

"How?" Conner asked.

"Let us handle things," Kimberly said. "We can give you a break."

Jason nodded in agreement. Conner just stared at them. "You can do that?"

"Of course," Trini said. "We just were waiting to see if you wanted help."

"We could have had help?" Kira asked behind him. He was pretty sure her voice had just cracked slightly. Conner's own mind was racing.

"You're lying," he said, not sure if they were or weren't anymore. If they weren't, that meant that they could have had help to begin with and they wouldn't have gone through all of this. It meant that the experiments, that the other teens, that all of this had been a lie. Zack shook his head.

"We didn't want you to think that we didn't think you could handle it," he said. "We didn't know it was this bad. The news left a lot out."

Conner briefly wondered if that was just normal or if that had been part of Dr. Mercer's doing. For all that he trusted Dr. O, he could see Dr. Mercer trying to affect things so that he could work with them longer. Jason turned his attention back to him. "So, dinosaurs, huh?"

"Yeah," Conner answered, both nervous and confused at the topic change. Part of him was saying to run, but there was a part of him that really wanted to stay that seemed to be in control right now.

"I was too," Jason said quietly. Conner looked at him and the pull increased. This was what it was over. Jason stood straight and mimicked the movements as if he was using a morpher. "It's Morphin' Time! Tyrannosaurus!"

"Dino Thunder, Power Up," Conner said, though he didn't actually do it. "Tyranno Power, Red Ranger."

Conner was shaking. That was the best word for it. He stumbled toward Jason who held out a hand. Conner reached out and saw his clawed and mutated hand, letting out a wail that he couldn't control. He wasn't ready to accept it fully, but he was starting to think that this hadn't been needed at all. Jason didn't wait for him to make it the rest of the way, rushing toward him and gently pulling him to him. He heard Billy quietly call out the triceratops and Ethan clumsily answer it, half choking on the word. Kimberly did the same toward Kira. Kira answered back. Trent was just quiet.

"I'm not sure what Zord you have," Kimberly told him and Conner could hear her crying. "But you seem close enough to a Pteradactyl to me."

Trent didn't protest as he rushed toward her as well. Conner realized the pull had stopped and everything just felt somewhat better. He looked at Jason. "You're not part dinosaur."

"The Power wanted to help you," Jason said. "And we were the first humans to use dinosaurs."

"The connection between our Zords seems to have given the Power an ability to bond us," Billy said from over Ethan's head. Jason just nodded to Conner.

Conner didn't pretend to really understand, but all that he really cared about was that they weren't going to have to do this alone anymore. Zack spoke over Jason's shoulder. "Let's get these guys home."

"Home?" Kira asked tiredly.

"Our home," Kimberly said. "You need a break."

"We can't," Conner stressed. "Reefside..."

"Will have every other team working on it," he promised.

"Doctor O will be mad," Conner said, nervously running a hand through his hair.

"We were his teammates," Jason said. "We'll talk to him."

It shouldn't be this easy. Conner knew that. He knew he should run back and let Doctor O know what was going on. He knew that they should probably test what was making them more likely to trust the older Rangers, but that same trust gently pushed him toward Jason and gave him little choice in the matter. Years later, he would wonder if the very act of connecting them more fully to their gems and thus the Power was the same reason Tommy lost control over them. For now, he stood down and let Jason lead. A glance toward his teammates told him that they were doing the same.


	3. Chapter 3

Rocky walked out to where Kim was watching the sky, hand over her eyes as she watched intently. He glanced up to see that Kira and Trent were doing far better than they had the last time he'd seen them when Kira had been crying in her foster mother's arms and Trent had refused to come out of his room. Both of the two artists were having to relearn their crafts all over again and neither had taken it well. Kim had insisted that they'd work on it and that they were still adjusting, so it might get better in time. They hadn't been able to even fly then which caused Rocky to firmly believe, watching the two smiling at they swooped around, that his friend was a miracle worker. All three of his friends were considering that they had all gotten to this point with the four younger Rangers. Billy, Jason, and Kim had moved in together to be able to help each other with the rather huge transition in their lives so even though Rocky talked to each of them separately, they were all certainly working together. It was something he'd seen across other teams as well.

Adam and he had agreed not to directly take in any of the Reefside teens to allow Rocky to be able to be the social worker for every single one of them. It had been a fight, but it was one that Carter and T.J. had helped him win. It helped that the Astro Rangers were staying out of it for the most part since they went off world so it looked less like a conflict of interest. Rocky, for his part, knew that this was going to be his caseload for a long while. He'd checked in with Angela and Joel earlier who had tried to take in Sarah, only to have her connect with Lightspeed's computer and refuse to come out. Cole had grabbed Krista and rushed into the forest before Rocky could say yes or no. The answer was yes, of course, but it had led to Rocky having to expedite the paperwork which had been another obstacle to him coming out here as his boss had been questioning why it needed to go through quickly. At least Taylor had apparently chewed out Cole for making his life harder before informing Rocky that they would all be on the paperwork and to make sure that change happened. Some of the kids had been turned in ways that were easier to control and their parents had willingly took over. Others had lost parents in collateral damage or were too wild like Krista to be left with civilians which meant that most of the Rangers had been forced out to be outed to help care for them. Nearly every team, with the exception of Ninja Storm, was outed. None of the other teams mentioned Tommy, but it was clear that this was the result of one of their own which made it their responsibility to clean up. 

"How are they doing?" Rocky asked as he made it to Kim's side before looking up again. Kira was definitely the more graceful of the two and had little issue with showing that off to Trent. Trent continually swiped at her and he was pretty sure that Trent was sturdier than his teammate. Adam had given him a book on dinosaurs and pterosaurs to make certain he knew what he was dealing with and Trent's pterosaur was bigger than Kira's so it made sense for them to be that way. He winced slightly as Trent let out a started 'hey!'.

"They're about to be grounded. Kira! Do not pull at Trent's wing when you two are flying! No rough flying!" She scolded.

"Yes, Kim," both of them answered back, obviously itching to do it anyway but not wanting to get into more trouble. Rocky just smiled.

"Don't let them get away with too much," he agreed. "But it's nice to see them acting like normal teenagers."

Kim just grinned at him. "At least these teens come with a natural need to listen. Still, I'm worry that's more from what Tommy to them than nature."

"Don't underestimate little birds not wanting to make the mama bird mad," Rocky teased, making sure to keep her from getting maudlin. They needed to be able to focus on the kids. She simply gave him a slight look. "It'll take some time, Kim."

"I know," she answered. "Jason had to coax Conner into telling him that he needed more meat. The poor kid was trying to eat other things because he was scared he might hurt someone. Ethan ruined more than one pillow and was stuck to the bed because of his horns. Billy's working on it."

"Good," Rocky answered, having already spoke to both of them. They'd already let him know how Kim and her two were doing as well. If he was honest with himself, he didn't really need to check in as more than a friend but none of them were going to say that. They wanted to do this as by the book as possible. 

"They'll be okay, right?" She asked, looking far more nervous than he was used to seeing her. He hugged her shoulders.

"They'll be fine," he assured her. "You're all doing great."

She nodded and looked relieved. She kept an eye upward but focused a good deal of attention toward him. "We haven't been able to keep up with what happened after we finishing saving Reefside."

"Eltar said that they'll be happy to keep Tommy there eternally," he said, knowing exactly what she was asking for. "They have a better system for dealing with rogue Rangers than we do plus none of us are going to go there."

Kim closed her eyes and let out the breath she'd been holding. "Do they think he'll ever be okay again?"

Rocky was quiet for a minute before answering. "They've been working on his mental state, Kim. He already asked about the kids."

Kim was tense. Jason and Billy had been too. None of them wanted to lose their new charges and what had happened left every Ranger unnerved. That said, every other Ranger wasn't dealing with Dino Thunder. None of the Rangers had the time to look into right then, but it was a strong hypothesis that the bond that the kids showed toward the older three Rangers had been reciprocated which meant separating them at this time would be extremely detrimental to all seven. It didn't matter because Rocky, Carter, and T.J. weren't going to let it happen anyway. She raised her head slightly. "And?"

"And he was told that they were safe and being looked after," Rocky answered. "Adam was the one who talked to them but did let them know that Tommy was never to have contact with them again." 

Kim nodded and relaxed. "What about Doctor Mercer?"

Rocky swallowed at that. "Do the kids have super hearing?"

"No," Kim said. "Why?"

"Wes and Eric took down Mesogog," he answered. "Lightspeed backed them up. We found the notes later: Dr. Mercer was Mesogog."

Kim's eyes widened. "What?"

Rocky nodded, still feeling a little sick over the whole thing. "He did some sort of experiment on himself and bam. Mesogog."

"He was supposedly helping them," Kim said.

"He was using them," Rocky corrected. "Wes, Eric, Lightspeed, and I don't think we should tell them."

Kim nodded. "No one else needs to know. We'll just leave him marked as missing. He wouldn't be the only one."

Rocky relaxed. It would be nice if all of them were in agreement, but he needed Kim on his side since it affected Trent the most. He hadn't told Jason and Billy yet since Kim was Trent's official foster parent, but they would know soon enough. 'No one' didn't include them. Adam had snorted and mentioned that all of Mighty Morphin and Zeo would know in a week anyway but that keeping it from going further was a good idea. "I'm obligated to tell you that fostering Kira and Trent is going to last a long time."

"I know," she answered. "I'm fine with that. We're all fine with that."

Rocky held up his hands with a disarming smile. "I just have to bring it up. You know you can call any of us if you need help?"

"I know," she promised. She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Thank you for helping us get this far."

Rocky nodded. "Any other Ranger that falls off the radar needs to be watched like a hawk."

"We'll handle it better next time," Kim tried to reassure him before turning back to the other two. Her hands went to her hips and Rocky held back a smile at the sight. "Both of you! Down here now! We do not try to knock each other out of the air! You're grounded."

Both did, looking sheepish, but also far happier than they'd looked when they were first brought it. Kim had a mixed expression of bemusement and relief that they felt safe enough to disobey. Rocky wasn't bothering to hold in his own laugh. He did, however, move forward so they could just get the official part of the visit out of the way and he could spend some time with his friends and the kids. "So, other than getting grounded, are you two doing okay?"

"We're still getting used to everything," Kira said, moving slightly closer to Kim. That was another thing he'd seen: The four tended to use the older three as a security blanket. Rocky wasn't about to argue with that. Trent was on Kim's other side, even closer than Kira was. They were still somewhat nervous around other Rangers, as if they'd get in trouble if they talked to them. Every time one of them flinched, Adam had to remind Rocky that Eltar was not a possible vacation spot ever.

"Are you sure everything is fixed in Reefside?" Trent asked. He asked each time, if Rocky was honest, as if he was worried he was letting everyone down. The need for approval was heartbreaking.

"I promise," Rocky said, trying to assure him. He heard a slight chuckle behind him.

"Conner keeps asking the same thing," Jason said, patting the younger man on the back as he walked up. Billy was right behind him with Ethan, both of them looking way too calm for Rocky not to be worried. He considered reminding Billy of acceptable activities to do with Ethan that were less dubiously legal, but decided that Billy was also unlikely to get caught and at least they were bonding. And at least they'd waited until he was out of the room before he'd done it.

"They're still rebuilding Reefside," Rocky said. "But there haven't been any new problems. And we definitely know where all of your classmates are now."

Conner nodded. "What about Mesogog?"

"Eric and Wes finally took him down," Rocky answered. He noticed that the kids weren't the only ones who were relieved. "You guys are done."

All four of them smiled slightly as the entire thing had taken a lot out of all of them. Kim smiled at all three of them. "That will give us plenty of time to keep working on helping you guys adjust."

"How long can we stay?" Trent asked nervously and he wasn't the only one who looked in Rocky's direction. Rocky knew that the teens needed his friends' reassurance more, but he could slightly help.

"We'll need you to stay here for a few years," Rocky said gently. "The government feels you need to learn to adjust and three years was the smallest amount of time I could argue for. After that, you'll have the choice on whether to stay or not."

"But you're welcome to stay as long as you need," Kim said, gently pulling Trent and Kira to her in a hug. Jason nodded firmly and Billy smiled his agreement toward Ethan.

Rocky just watched as none of them became skiddish at the idea, but rather took in the offer at face value. It was going to be a long road to recovery for all of the former students, but they would make it work. Adam and Zack had quietly been working with some of the others to create a system where they had an ambassador to future teams to let them know they weren't alone and to keep an eye on mentors. Andros agreed to have his team keep tabs on other Rangers to be on the safe side, equally agreeing to have shifts so that no one from that team might be corrupted. It was unlikely, but none of them wanted to take that chance. As it was, they needed to move forward one day at a time.

As Kira and Trent turned back to the sky once they were done while Conner and Ethan verbally swiped at each other, Rocky wasn't too worried. It would take time, but they were all on the right track and that was all they could hope for.


End file.
